British West Indies

The British West Indies were the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire. In 1912, the British West Indies were divided into eight colonies: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with its dependencies the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Trinidad and Tobago, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, all of the island territories except the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, British Honduras and British Guiana were organised into the West Indies Federation. It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a single nation, but it had limited powers, many practical problems, and a lack of popular support. Consequently, the West Indies Federation was dissolved. Most of the territories, including all the larger ones, are now independent as separate countries with membership to many international forums such as the Organization of American States, the Association of Caribbean States, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, the Caribbean Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Caribbean Development Bank among others. The remainder are British overseas territories. All the former nations of the British West Indies, except the Commonwealth of Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, are Commonwealth Realms.

The term is still used for British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, such as the Cayman Islands.